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Celtic play host to Belgian champions Club Brugge in a crucial Champions League clash in Glasgow
The Bulgarian became a referee in 2001 and has been FIFA listed since 2013. He took charge of his first Champions League match in 2018 and has overseen a total of seven matches in the competition,with one of those coming this season in Aston Villa’s 3-0 away victory in Switzerland against BSC Young Boys.
In total, he has handed out 32 yellow cards in his seven Champions League matches and has sent a total of three players off.
Kabakov will work alongside assistant referees Martin Margaritov and Diyan Valkov while Vasil Minev will act as fourth official.
Dragomir Draganov will oversee any controversial VAR decisions alongside Christian Dingert.
Celtic boast a solid record of two victories from four matches in the Champion League this season, with both of their wins coming at Parkhead.
The Hoops also earned a commendable 0-0 draw away to Europa League holders Atalanta and are currently in a strong position to progress to the knockout stage for the first time since 2013.
Their 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund earlier in the tournament is their only loss in 19 matches across all competitions this season.
Celtic’s upcoming opponents
Belgian champions Club Brugge currently sit 22nd in the Champions League table, just one point behind Celtic in 15th place.
Brugge were beaten 3-0 at home to last year’s finalists Borussia Dortmund and also fell to a 3-1 defeat away to seven-time winners AC Milan.
However, they have recorded victories and clean sheets against both SK Sturm Graz and Aston Villa in recent matches.
Club Brugge are second in the Belgium Pro League with eight wins, four draws and three defeats from 15 matches but enter this match in high spirits after a resounding 7-0 victory against Sint-Truidense, which saw Christos Tzolis find the net on four occasions.
“We are 100% ready for Celtic. We have the right mindset for it. We have to be ready for a difficult match, but we just have to play our own game. We have already shown the qualities we have at that level.” Tzois said.
“I believe we have just played our best match of the season so we are full of confidence.
“It is the first time in my professional career that I managed to score four times. I am very happy about that. I also appreciate that I was allowed to take the penalty too.”
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